Increasing pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean: from fishing conflicts to the RUEN case

Bulk carrier NAVIBULGAR has been successfully freed from Somali pirates following a three-month-long hijacking incident. Image: Indian Navy

25 March 2024

Although international attention and the shipping industry are focused on the situation in the Red Sea, the resurgence of piracy in the Indian Ocean since November 2023 is also a rising concern that should not be overlooked. While the first attacks were often linked to fishing conflicts in Somali waters, several attacks have also targeted commercial vessels on the high seas, as shown by the case of the RUEN and the ABDULLAH.

By Louis Borer, Senior analyst

While all eyes are focused on the situation in the Red Sea and the Houthi attacks on merchant vessels transiting the area, there has also been an upsurge in piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean since November 2023, the first time this has happened in several years.

In this tense and sometimes confusing geopolitical context, it is important to make clear distinctions. On the one hand, there is the threat posed by the Houthis, an insurgent group with a political and ideological approach. On the other hand, pirates are seeking profit for private ends on the basis of a favorable gain/risk ratio reward, unconnected with any ideological or political demands.

This distinction is particularly important at a time when the leader of the Houthi rebels, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced in mid-March his intention to extend attacks southwards towards an area close to the piracy zones.

At the same time, it is legitimate to ask whether pirates consider that the deteriorating maritime security context offers them new opportunities. International attention and most military efforts are currently focused on the Houthi threat.

However, it appears that the first pirate attacks observed in the region were unrelated to the context and linked to conflicts over illegal fishing, to which Somalia is often exposed. Beginning in November and December, these attacks were often located close to the Somali coast, resulting from disagreements between Iranian-flagged fishing vessels and the company that administers the fishing licenses based in Bossasso. That also explains why the first dhows and fishing vessels were Iranian flagged. Other incidents, such as the one in the Gulf of Aden involving the fishing vessel NAJM on 16 March, are more likely to be linked to internal disputes.

Much more daring piracy, similar to the 2008-2012 period, is also being seen, particularly since the attack on the RUEN on 14 December which marked the first successful hijacking of a commercial vessel by Somali pirates since 2017. This attack demonstrates that structured pirate groups are still operational, and that they have retained the skills to carry out attacks on the high seas, more than 500 nautical miles from the coast.

The pirates had managed to take control of the RUEN and take the ship to its place of detention, an anchorage off Bander Murcaayo in Somalia's Puntland region. The hijacking of the bulk carrier ABDULLAH 580 miles east of Mogadishu on 13 March is also believed to have been carried out from a mother ship.

Over the past three months, the Indian Navy has tracked the movements of the RUEN, which was used by pirates to launch attacks further out into the Indian Ocean, before being recaptured in mid-March by Indian naval commandos deployed from INS KOLKATA, following a similar Indian operation earlier on the LILA NORFOLK.

To date, it is likely that two to three pirate groups are currently operating on the high seas. The most likely scenario, therefore, is that pirates are operating from mother ships, looking for targets while waiting for sea conditions to allow boardings, particularly in isolated areas.

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